Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

December 2, 2008 11:50:44 AM CST

Learn about Newser Points »

« Back to the grid | Next story »

Tree That Survived A-Bomb Sees 70th Christmas

Posted Dec 22, 07 1:10 PM CST in World 

(Newser) – A Japanese soldier's Christmas tree has stayed with his family through dark times, and even survived the atomic bomb that killed his brother in Nagasaki. This year marks the 70th Christmas that Warren Nobuaki Iwatake has put up the fragile, three-foot tree, which he calls "a shining light, because it was a symbol of unity in my family."

Iwatake's family hoisted the tree every year through World War II, risking arrest from Japanese authorities who were suspicious of all things Western. After a US POW rescued Iwatake from a pit during the war, and Iwatake later saw the soldier beheaded, he sent pics of the tree to the man's Texas family every year. "Gradually, Christmas has become more meaningful again," said Iwatake.

Source Associated Press

0 comments | Print E-mail | Digg Seed this on Newsvine Add this link to Del.icio.us StumbleUpon

Related Newser Stories

  • Degrees at Last for WWII Internment-Camp Detainees

    Jun 5, 08 5:25 PM CDT
    Degrees at Last for WWII Internment-Camp Detainees Oregon State University will honor 42 Japanese-American students who were forced to leave school for a government internment camp in 1941, the Daily Barometer reports. OSU will give 22 honorary degrees to the surviving individuals and family members representing others at its commencement ceremony June 15. More »

  • Nagasaki Mayor's Killer Confesses

    Jan 22, 08 1:54 PM CST
    Nagasaki Mayor's Killer Confesses The Japanese man accused of killing the mayor of Nagasaki last April has admitted to the crime, the BBC reports. "I apologize to Mayor Iccho Ito and his family from the bottom of my heart," Tetsuya Shiroo said today on the first day of his trial. An alleged gangster, Shiroo was apprehended immediately after shooting Ito last year as he campaigned for reelection. More »

  • 'Rape of Nanking' Fresh, 70 Years Later

    Dec 15, 07 5:19 AM CST
    'Rape of Nanking' Fresh, 70 Years Later Seventy years have passed since the "Rape of Nanking," when Japanese soldiers brutally massacred as many as 300,000 Chinese civilians, but the effects of the trauma are still very much present in China and its relations with Japan. Memorializing the event plays a major role in cementing China's sense of its own history, Der Spiegel reports. More »

  • Pearl Harbor Survivors Remember

    Dec 7, 07 10:10 AM CST
    Pearl Harbor Survivors Remember Pearl Harbor survivors will pause today to remember the attack that reshaped their lives—and the nation's—66 years ago today. The remembrances come as the ever-shrinking number of surviving vets wonder how Americans will remember their legacy, the LA Times reports. Says a historian: "When all of our World War II vets are gone, how much of this interest will continue?" More »

  • Hiroshima Bomb Pilot Dead at 92

    Nov 1, 07 3:19 PM CDT
    Hiroshima Bomb Pilot Dead at 92 The commander and pilot of the B-29 that dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945—the first military use of nuclear weapons—died today, the Associated Press reports. Paul Tibbets was 92, and requested no funeral or headstone for fear that they might attract anti-nuclear protesters. Tibbets always said he had no regrets about the mission. More »

Warren Nobuaki Iwatake speaks, while sitting near to a Christmas tree, in his house in Tokyo, Friday, Dec. 7, 2007. Iwatake's family has seen more than its share of calamity. (AP Photo/Katsumi Kasahara)   (Associated Press)
Warren Nobuaki Iwatake speaks during an interview with The Associated Press, next to a Christmas tree and a 2002 photograph showing him with former U.S. President George H.W. Bush. One day during World...   (Associated Press)
Warren Nobuaki Iwatake and his wife, Emiko, puts the final touches on a Christmas tree in his house in Tokyo, Friday, Dec. 7, 2007. Iwatake's family has seen more than its share of calamity. (AP Photo/Katsumi...   (Associated Press)
In this photo released by Warren Nobuaki Iwatake, a family portrait shows Iwatake, fourth from right, with his parents and four younger brothers and one sister taken in Hawaii in the 1930s. (AP Photo/Warren...   (Associated Press)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
Our editors also recommend:

Iwatake

Threads (
1
 of 2)

Tags

Japan • World War II • Christmas • Nagasaki


Loading...

Premium Articles from HighBeam

Find more articles like this

Today's Most Popular

Loading...

Other World Stories

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser a team of editors and writers culls the most important stories from hundreds of U.S. and international sources and reduces them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. It's the Newser guarantee: we can take any report or column or video and pack what you need to know into 120 words or less. Newser's short-form aggregation, visual format, and unique information tools help you get more of the kind of news you want, in a quicker and more entertaining way. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »